Before Apple's Vision Pro hits the shelves, lower-priced rival Xreal claims it's near 200k shipments

BEIJING — Less than a twelvemonth since augmented world glasses startup Xreal started sales, the Alibaba-backed institution is claiming shipments volition soon scope 200,000 units.

Augmented world (AR) exertion allows integer images to beryllium imposed implicit the existent world.

It took the Chinese startup astir 4 months to vessel 100,000 units worldwide aft a wide motorboat successful precocious August 2022, co-founder Peng Jin told CNBC Thursday connected the sidelines of Shanghai MWC.

"So you tin bash the math, however agelong it takes to bash 200,000 units? It won't instrumentality that long," helium said, without specifying a date.

It's unclear whether the gait of income has changed. In precocious May, Xreal said it had sold 150,000 products globally.

"Right now, 200%, 300% [growth], it should beryllium the norm, it doesn't truly mean much," Jin said. "But I deliberation it's precise encouraging that radical are accepting this caller signifier factor, they are accepting this caller experience."

Xreal's Air glasses outgo $379, astir a tenth of the $3,500 that Apple plans to complaint for its Vision Pro headset erstwhile it's acceptable to scope consumers adjacent year.

The 2 products run connected antithetic exertion and their capabilities vary.

But some effort to replicate the carnal surface clip acquisition with a large, virtual screen. That benignant of integer replication falls nether the class of spatial computing.

"We bash spot spatial computing arsenic the large technological inclination successful the adjacent possibly two, 3 decades," Jin said.

"I don't deliberation the instrumentality is successful creating a full clump of archetypal contented truthful radical tin hide what they're doing and germinate into that. ... For us, the contented is already there."

The Financial Times connected Monday reported, citing sources, that Vision Pro suppliers were lone projecting a fewer 100 1000 units for the archetypal year, down from Apple's interior income people of 1 million. The study attributed the lowered forecast to the headset's complexity, and accumulation difficulties.

Apple did not respond to a petition for comment.

Worldwide shipments of VR headsets and augmented world devices dropped by much than 12% to 9.6 cardinal successful 2022, according to CCS Insight.

Meta successful June revealed its latest virtual world headset, the Quest 3, with a $499 terms tag. The institution said further details would travel successful September.

Last week, analytics steadfast Canalys said it expects Vision Pro and related devices would person a idiosyncratic basal of 20 cardinal — 5 years retired from the planned 2024 launch.

For Vision Pro to beryllium successful, it needs to regenerate idiosyncratic computers, said Nicole Peng, elder vice president, mobility, astatine Canalys. She said that's the worth proposition Vision Pro has acceptable up, which is antithetic from what Xreal oregon Meta offer.

Xreal rebranded from Nreal successful precocious May.

"Nreal, Xreal glasses inactive request to link with a PC oregon a phone," Peng said. "That means erstwhile you're utilizing it it's apt to [need] a ligament to link with either of the devices."

Right now, the company's superior merchandise — Xreal Air — allows wearers of the headsets to spot an enlarged mentation of a computer, gaming instrumentality oregon smartphone surface via a connected cord.

A forthcoming accessory called Xreal Beam, priced astatine $109, allows Xreal Air users to link wirelessly to a device. Deliveries are acceptable to statesman successful the 2nd fractional of July, according to the authoritative website.

People successful 85 countries signed up to beryllium notified astir the Xreal Beam, Jin said. He said the institution chiefly sells to the U.S., Japan and South Korea, with China accounting for little than a 3rd of sales.

In August, Xreal plans to grow online shipping to parts of Europe, Jin told CNBC. Currently customers successful the portion tin lone wage for planetary shipping via Amazon.com successful the U.S.

Xreal Air resembles a brace of mean sunglasses, and claims to measurement conscionable 79 grams (less than 3 ounces).

Apple has not released specified figures for Vision Pro. CNBC's Steve Kovach described the headset arsenic "a spot dense and uncomfortable" aft 30 minutes. The instrumentality is strapped to the head, similar goggles.

However, Vision Pro includes tech meant to springiness the idiosyncratic a digitally simulated immersive experience, portion Xreal glasses task a surface successful beforehand of the wearer — who tin besides spot the existent world, Jin pointed out.

He said the company's probe and improvement is looking for ways to marque the glasses smaller, let users to person a broader tract of presumption and devour little power.

Despite being the fig 1 champion seller successful astute glasses connected Amazon, Xreal's AR glasses are inactive acold from offering the cleanable idiosyncratic experience.

Lack of contented wrong Xreal's operating strategy and difficulties of connecting with an existing instrumentality were among the downsides highlighted successful a Mashable reappraisal past week.

But the reviewer said that "despite immoderate large hiccups and shortcomings, I inactive usage this instrumentality astir daily, and it's go a major staple successful my gaming experience."

Xreal raised $100 cardinal successful 2021, valuing the institution astatine $700 million, CNBC reported. That was followed by a $60 million rise led by Alibaba past year.

Xreal has besides partnered with Chinese electrical car marque Nio for AR glasses that fto radical ticker movies connected a virtual ample surface from wrong the vehicle.

Jin said past week the institution is looking to rise much capital, ideally astatine slightest a mates of 100 cardinal dollars oregon more. He declined to accidental however overmuch — oregon astatine what valuation — and noted helium is not straight progressive with those discussions.

— CNBC's Arjun Kharpal, Steve Kovach and Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.